Pumps are used in fluid circulation systems to manipulate the direction and speed of a fluid. For example, pools and spas may use pumps to force water through water heaters, heat exchangers, salt and chlorine generators, and pool filters. In general, a pump includes a fluid inlet for allowing fluid to enter the pump, and a fluid outlet to allow the fluid to exit the pump.
Pumps may be designed in a variety of sizes and different pumps may differ in the height at which their inlet and outlet ports are positioned. This variability in positioning of the inlet and outlet height, as well as the variety of sizes and types of fluid circulation systems, may limit the flexibility of a pool system designer in selecting a pump, thus increasing manufacturing and installation costs. For example, a pump selected based on a specific flow rate, price, or size may have inlets and/or outlets that are not ideally positioned for placement in a new or existing system. Therefore, an installer or a pool owner may be forced to select a pump based solely on the compatibility of its ports or construct customized mounting bases, connectors, and/or fluid fittings to integrate the desired pump into the existing fluid handling system.
When the inlet and outlets of a desired pump are incompatible with the existing fluid handling system, the installer or pool owner may be required to expend time and money to re-configure the system to accommodate the desired pump. Alternatively, the installer or pool owner may choose to construct a customized base for the desired pump. In the case of customized pump bases, construction requires extra time to create and install the pump into the fluid handling system. In some cases, customized pump bases may not be of the highest quality leading to fluid leakage and pipe or pump failure. These factors are important to consider when selecting a pump, as they may increase the cost, flexibility, and complexity of designing a pump system for a pool.